The Calm before the Storm
by LolSherlockFandom
Summary: A prequel to Warrior Cats: Into the Wild. I hope you enjoy it. This is my first story so please leave me some comments! Please PM me if you have any personal comments or you want to know more about the story and what will happen!
1. Chapter 1: A New Warrior

Warrior Cats: The Calm before the Storm

MEET THE CATS

**Thunderclan**

**Leader** Bluestar – Blue-grey she- cat, tinged with silver around her muzzle.

**Deputy** Redtail – Small tortoiseshell tom with a distinctive ginger tail

Apprentice - Dustpaw

**Medicine Cat** Spottedleaf – Beautiful dark tortoiseshell she-cat with a distinctive dappled coat

**Warriors** (toms and she-cats without kits)

Lionheart – Magnificent golden tabby tom with thick for like a lion's mane

Tigerclaw – Big dark brown tabby tom with unusually long front claws

Apprentice = Longpaw

Whitestorm – Big white tom

Apprentice = Sandpaw

Darkstripe – Sleek black and grey tabby tom

Runningwind – Swift tabby tom

Mousefur – Small dusky brown she-cat

Dappletail – Once pretty tortoiseshell she-cat with a lovely dappled coat

**Apprentices** (more than 6 moons old, in training to become warriors)

Dustpaw – Dark brown tabby tom

Sandpaw – Pale ginger she-cat

Longpaw – Pale tabby tom with dark black stripes

**Queens** (she-cats expecting or nursing kits)

Willowpelt – Very pale grey she-cat with unusual blue eyes

Frostfur – Beautiful white coat and blue eyes

Brindleface – Pretty tabby

Goldenflower – Pale ginger coat

Speckletail – Pale tabby and the oldest nursery queen

**Elders** (former warriors and queens, now retired)

Halftail – Big dark brown tabby tom with part of his tail missing

Smallear – Grey tom with very small ears. Oldest tom in Thunderclan.

Patchpelt – Small black and white tom

One-Eye – Pale grey she-cat, the oldest cat in Thunderclan. Virtually blind and deaf

**Shadowclan**

**Leader** Raggedstar 

**Deputy** Brokentail long-haired dark brown tabby **Medicine Cat** Yellowfang – Old, dark grey she-cat with a broad, flattened face

**Warriors**

Runningnose – Small grey and white tom

Stumpytail – Brown tabby tom

Apprentice – Brownpaw

Boulder – Silver tabby tom

Apprentice – Wetpaw

Blackfoot – Large white tom with huge jet-black paws

Clawface – Battle-scarred brown tom

Apprentice – Littlepaw

Nightpelt – Black tom

**Queens**

Dawncloud – Small tabby

Brightflower – Black-and-white she-cat

**Elders**

Ashfur – Thin grey tom

**Windclan**

**Leader** Tallstar – A black and white tom with a very long tail

**Deputy**Deadfoot – Black tom with a twisted paw

**Medicine Cat**Barkface – Short-tailed brown tom

**Warriors**

Mudclaw – Mottled dark brown tom

Apprentice – Webpaw

Tornear – Tabby tom

Apprentice – Runningpaw

Onewhisker – Young brown tabby tom

Apprentice - Whitepaw

**Queens**

Ashfoot – A grey Queen

Morningflower – A tortoiseshell queen

**Riverclan**

**Leader** Crookedstar – Huge light-coloured tabby with a twisted jaw

**Deputy** Oakheart – A reddish-brown tom

**Medicine Cat** Mudfur – Long-haired light brown tom

**Warriors**

Blackclaw – Smoky black tom

Apprentice – Heavypaw

Stonefur – A grey tom with battle-scarred ears

Apprentice – Shadepaw

Loudbelly – A dark brown tom

Apprentice – Silverpaw

Silverstream – A pretty slender silver tabby

Whiteclaw – A dark warrior

**Cats Outside Clans**

Smudge – Plump, friendly black-and-white kitten who lives in a house at the end of the forest

Rusty – Handsome ginger tom who lives in a house at the edge of the forest

Barley – Black and white tom who lives on a farm close to the forest

**Chapter 1**

_Longpaw stood at the _base of Highrock and gazed up at his leader. Tigerclaw, Longpaw's mentor, stood next to him proudly staring around.

"I, Bluestar, leader of Thunderclan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. He has trained hard to understand the ways of the warrior," Yowled Bluestar, turning to the excited apprentice "Longpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code even at the cost of your life?

A tremble edged his mew, "I do"

"Then by the powers of Starclan, I give you your warrior name. From this moment on you shall be known as Longtail. Let you become a warrior this clan can be proud of."

Excited shouts filled the air as the name rippled through the clan, "Longtail! Longtail!"

"I will sit my vigil tonight, in honour of being a warrior!" Declared Longtail, his eyes bright.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Longtail leaped forward, grabbing the mouse between his paws. He killed it with a sharp bite.

Slowly, he lifted the warm body between his teeth. Pride swelled through him, his first kill as a warrior.

Suddenly, a figure shot out from behind him and bundled into him.

"Ambush!" Cried the cat.

Pausing briefly, Longtail identified Redtail, the Thunderclan Deputy.

"Mrroww!" Laughed Longtail, playfully battering Redtail with his paws. After all, he couldn't properly attack Thunderclan's deputy.

After a while , Redtail gave up and Longtail thanked him deeply for letting him practice his 'moves' on him.

Plunging through the undergrowth, he headed back to the camp, carrying the mouse between his jaws, eager to show his first hunt as a warrior.


	2. Chapter 2: Believe me  They are

The Calm before the storm

Chapter 2

_Gazing through the leaves_, Longtail spotted Riverclan hunting skilfully in the river. Although the clans were rivals, he couldn't help admiring their slender bodies, silky fur and sharp hunting skills. At the present time, the two clans were showing much hostility because of the Sunningrocks. Both clans believed that it was their territory, and many battles had already been fought, however none solved the problem.

When Longtail returned from his trip carrying a vole and a sparrow, no cat seemed to notice as they were focussing on Spottedleaf. She was rushing from her en to the nursery with her jaws stuffed with herbs. _Willowpelt's kits must be coming_ he thought. Privately, he thought that Willowpelt had chosen a bad time to have kits; she already had Greykit, and he was only 3 moons old.

A cry of joy interrupted his thoughts. Whitestorm rushed into the nursery to see his offspring. A little while later he exited and smiled proudly at the watching cats.

"They are beautiful, just beautiful!" he purred loudly.

"Have you chosen names for them yet?"asked Mousefur, cocking her head to one side.

"Yes. We have called the white she-cat Chrystalkit in honour of her piercing blue eyes, and the pale grey tom Stormkit. They will become warriors that this clan will treasure," meowed Willowpelt, padding out of the den, "They are asleep now and I must rest too."

Longtail padded over to Whitestorm, a sparkle in his eyes.

"They sound just perfect."

"Believe me...they are..."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Longtail was dreaming. He saw the forest in all its glory. Greens of all shades, brimming with prey. _It must be Greenleaf here_ he thought. Suddenly a sharp claw poked him in his back, and he snapped back into reality. Darkstripe loomed over him.

"Patrol," he meowed.

"But...I was having this really great dream," murmured the young warrior.

"And now you can go on a really great warrior patrol," he meowed unsympathetically.

As Longtail padded out of the den, an icicle shattered on his head.

"Ouch," he muttered.

Leafbare had begun...


	3. Chapter 3: The Sick Kits

The Calm Before the Storm

Chapter 3: The Sick Kits

_Charging into camp_, Longtail immediately noticed Spottedleaf rushing into the nursery, a bunch of tansy in her jaws. Panic flashed in her eyes. _The kits must be ill_ thought Longtail, sharing Spottedleaf's panic. He raced into the den, only to be greeted by a wave of sickness. _Whitecough!_

"Longtail! Help me carry Chrystalkit and Stormkit to my den!" yelled Spottedleaf, "AND HURRY!"

She jabbed a kit at him and he grabbed its scruff, gently lifting it off the ground and towards the medicine den. _Whitecough quickly turns into greencough, _he thought_ especially with precious few healing herbs and more cold weather coming._

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Coughing could be heard from the other side of the Thunderclan camp. The foul stench of sickness rotted the air. Questions swarmed in Longtail's mind. Were the kits ok? What happened during the night?

Padding over to Brindleface who was at the fresh-kill pile, he mewed in a low voice,

"How are the kits?"

Startled, Brindleface dropped the mouse she had picked up and stared at Longtail. A spark of relief flashed in her eyes as she realised who he was.

"I'm not sure, but I don't think they'll make it through leaf bare," she murmured so quietly that Longtail could only just hear her troubled reply. _What will happen to Greykit if the kits die? He'll be distraught!_

A mew of "Longtail!" interrupted his thoughts.

"Longtail! Are you deaf? Come and join our patrol!" shouted Dappletail, gesturing him towards her with a flick of her tail.

"Coming!"

He bounded up to join Dappletail and Lionheart.

"Where are we going?" mewed Longtail as they padded up the ravine.

"Sunningrocks. We're making sure Riverclan haven't been up to their tricks. Oakheart and Crookedstar have made it clear that they want to try and steal our territory," answered Lionheart.

"Oh, ok."

Silently, they checked the borders and reset the markers, hoping that it would give Riverclan the message, for now at least.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Longtail couldn't sleep. He kept thinking about what has happening around him. He was scared. Creeping out of the warriors den, he rolled in some ferns to hide his scent. _Tigerclaw must not know that I am leaving_ he said to himself as he exited the camp swiftly, in order to get past Tigerclaw (who was guarding the camp) as fast as possible.

Vole! Longtail could hear the young creature's heart beating in his ear. The clan had been fed, he was hungry, and he could always catch more. Sneakily, he captured the vole between his paws, killed it, and gulped it down in a few rapid bites, the bones crunching noisily between his jaws.

Prey was scarce in Leaf-bare, however the prey in Thunderclan territory was constantly running – the other clans had already attempted to steal prey but had always failed because they stuffed their faces as soon as they had caught it. More rabbit bones had been found that morning on the Shadowclan border, and when the dawn patrol caught up with the Shadowclan patrol and there had been a fight. Goldenflower had been injured – a deep bite on her shoulder. Longtail had smelled the marigold poultice when we walked past Spottedleaf's den.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"Morning!" called Longtail to Tigerclaw, as he padded through the camp entrance, his jaws stuffed with prey.

"Where have you been?" asked Tigerclaw suspiciously, "I didn't see you go out."

"Ummm... I've just been hunting. I know I should have told you that I was going out, but I went to make dirt before I left," lied Longtail, shuffling his paws.

"Hmmm ... a convincing story. Put that prey on the fresh-kill pile and go and see Willowpelt. She has been asking for you."

"Ok, thanks."

Bounding towards the nursery, Longtail heard a high-pitched wail.

"My kits! My kits!"

Willowpelt trudged out of the den and buried her head in his shoulder.

"I just had a rest – they finally slept too. I woke up and they were cold, so cold!" she mewed unhappily.

Longtail looked at her in dismay. What other horror lay waiting for Thunderclan, _and who would protect them from it?_


End file.
